Africa Cup of Nations: Open Thread
By Tom Dunmore • Jan 20th, 2008 • Category: News & Notes • 13 responses
I’ve read all the previews. I’ve gaped at the ongoing controversy stirred by Blatter’s big mouth declaration that the Cup should be moved to summer. I’m impressed by the determination of fans to make it to Ghana and cheer on their teams despite the obstacles. And there’s something particularly attractive about an international tournament without all those familiar European teams clogging it up. Frankly, I’m excited for it to begin today.
Of course, many of the players from African nations are more and more familiar to those of us who watch European football religiously. Is this why there seems to be more interest in the Cup than even two years ago amongst your average world football fan? Or is it due to the internet, shrinking our horizons just enough this time?
This is the place to put any thoughts you have about the tournament as it kicks off today in Ghana. Or will you be boycotting it, because you think Sepp Blatter is right that the priority should be the needs of club football?
And perhaps most importantly, have you picked a team to root for? For me, it’s the Super Eagles of Nigeria. This goes all the way back to USA ‘94 which, you might recall, is the last time England failed to qualify for the World Cup.
As soon as I saw Nigeria play, they won me over. I don’t want to offer awful cliches about African football, but there was something refreshing about them, particularly in contrast to Graham Taylor’s godawful England team at the time (Taylor being Steve McClaren crossed with the boss from The Office, convinced the future of football lay in the 70 yard hit and hope).
When Italy came back to knock Nigeria out in the second round, quite unjustly I thought, it was a minor tragedy in my footballing life. So I will be cheering on the Super Eagles, as soon as I can figure out how to watch the games on the internet here in America. . .
Day One
The opener, Ghana vs. Guinea, has begun. Even though I purchased a subscription to the group stage on jumptv.com, it’s not working so I’m watching pixellated figures on Sopcast instead. Daryl is doing a fine job liveblogging over at the World Cup Blog right now telling me what’s actually happening, so join us there if you’re interested. I’ll also add some observations in the comments below, and you should, too. 0-0 at half-time, despite Ghana’s absolute dominance.
1-0: Ghana score from the spot, with a somewhat dubious penalty, but it’s hard to argue with the scoreline.
1-1!: Guinea score, a powerful header tying it up. Unfair on Ghana, but the sight of Guinea’s fans dancing deleriously in the stands with joy was a heart-warming moment.
2-1 Ghana: Muntari, from thirty yards out in the 90th minute, rips off an absolute cliched belter, screamer, or whatever else you want to call it, into the top corner. Ghana goes wild.
Morocco beat a poor Namibia side in the opening day’s other game, in front of a disappointingly empty stadium. View the goals here.
Day Two
Ivory Coast-Nigeria: Perhaps the most glamorous clash of the first round is going on as I type — Ivory Coast, starring the likes of Didier Drogba, against my favourites, Nigeria’s Super Eagles. It’s 0-0 in the first half, with Yobo doing a fine job containing Drogba. Join Daryl at the World Cup Blog for liveblogging action right now.
An hour later, and Ivory Coast have edged a solid win. The two teams were both so powerful and athletic — who knew Obi Mikel could be made to look normal — they cancelled each other out for large portions of the game. But a magic dribble by Kalou was enough for the Elephants to sneak it, and deservedly so.
Tom Dunmore is the editor of Pitch Invasion.
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i too will be cheering on the super eagles, hoping they won’t come 3rd again! should be a great tournament, now i need to work out how im going to sneak out of work to watch the afternoon games!
Thanks for the mention, Tom!
I don’t think I’ve got one specific team I’ll be supporting, but I do have several that I’ll be keeping an eye on for different reasons.
Zambia, because of the continual rebuilding process following the 1993 air crash, Sudan, Namibia and Benin, as they rarely reach the finals, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Cameroon purely for star potential… but for me, I think Ghana will eclipse all of them as this is their best chance to win outright for a long time, and my opinion is they’ll grab it with both hands.
Should be a great tournament!
Ghana look by far the sharper of the two teams so far (36′). They barely seem to miss Stephen Appiah. But somehow they can’t manage to find the net.
I agree, Ghana have hit the woodwork three times and blazed the ball over twice as many times again. Essien looks like he’s playing amongst men half his size, the way he bestrides the pitch.
Still, I get the feeling the Ghana keeper could chuck it into his own net at any moment.
0-0 just before half-time.
I loved Ghana at the World Cup, I thought they competed admirably with Brazil in the second round and might have won it. So I’m supporting them.
Their chances are helped by the fact that they’re the home nation, who pretty much always win. My liking for them was increased by the gaggle of Ghana fans watching the game in the union bar earlier.
As an aside, UK TV coverage is amazing. Every game’s on BBCi, evening games on BBC3, the final on BBC2. What more could you want?
What a match! And I missed the last 15 minutes! Brutal. From what I saw, Ghana clearly deserved the win, but I came away with a new appreciation for Guinea. They were completely outclassed, but they never gave up. Anyway, I just hope the rest of the tournament is this entertaining—and I say that not even having seen a replay of Muntari’s goal yet.
It would appear that Namibia are not very good, and that the Ghanaian public are aware of this fact.
Given the number of West African qualifiers, I hadn’t expected this to be yet another CAN marked by virtually empty stadia for some matches, but it seems that I was wrong.
Shame, they missed out: plenty of goals in the Namibia-Morocco game, including a couple of peaches. See them here.
“Large swathes” of empty seats at Nigeria-Cote d’Ivoire are even more surprising.
Have they overpriced the tickets (again)?
I’m still excited for this, and mostly enjoying it so far. But I’m a bit concerned by two things:
1) The state of the pitches. Especially the Accra pitch where it looks like they’re trying to disguise a bumpy surface with long grass. The long grass isn’t exactly encouraging a short passing game.
2) Empty seats. Couldn’t believe what I saw at the Morocco vs Namibia game. Hopefully the authorities will lower the prices so curious locals can go and watch the games.
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